My parents did not tell me about Santa, my friends didn’t seem to take him seriously, and I got way to pessimistic and world weary for my own good before the age of eight, which still seems to be an issue now. lots of other factors were involved though, so the signal / noise ratio is infinitesimal.
When I have kids, I want to them to be rational and see the world for what it really is, but I am willing to take a few liberties to avoid depressing them for a decade. It will not involve trying to get them to accept a fictional deity who offers to give people whatever they want (but only if mom and dad could theoretically afford it), but I am not sure how to do this.
If all else fails, I will just be copying the dad from Calvin and Hobbes and encouraging my kids to read science fiction. I would also like to teach them to get along with other people, but first I need to figure out myself.
My parents did not tell me about Santa, my friends didn’t seem to take him seriously, and I got way to pessimistic and world weary for my own good before the age of eight, which still seems to be an issue now. lots of other factors were involved though, so the signal / noise ratio is infinitesimal. When I have kids, I want to them to be rational and see the world for what it really is, but I am willing to take a few liberties to avoid depressing them for a decade. It will not involve trying to get them to accept a fictional deity who offers to give people whatever they want (but only if mom and dad could theoretically afford it), but I am not sure how to do this.
If all else fails, I will just be copying the dad from Calvin and Hobbes and encouraging my kids to read science fiction. I would also like to teach them to get along with other people, but first I need to figure out myself.